Turnover at Colchester tax office under scrutiny, emails reveal

First Selectman Gregg Schuster began a probe of employee turnover in Colchester’s tax collector’s office last year, after a recently-hired assistant collector quit with no notice.

Ryan Blessing

First Selectman Gregg Schuster began a probe of employee turnover in Colchester’s tax collector’s office last year, after a recently-hired assistant collector quit with no notice.

Documents obtained by The Bulletin through a Freedom of Information Act request show that Schuster and Tax Collector Tricia Coblentz had email discussions about staffing levels in the tax office after the full-time assistant tax collector resigned July 12 after three months working for the town.

On July 18, Schuster emailed Coblentz and said that in the previous two years, she had “terminated one employee without authorization and in violation of the Town Charter, another employee had to be escorted out by police, and last week, another employee quit with no notice.

“I believe asking why there is turnover in your staff is a completely valid and appropriate question,” he told her. “I believe I have a responsibility to investigate the circumstances surrounding this turnover so that we can ensure it does not happen again.”

Schuster said two weeks ago he would not comment on the documents due to what he called “an ongoing investigation.” He again would not comment last week, because it is a personnel issue.

“There’s been no wrongdoing, We follow state statutes to a T,” Coblentz said Thursday, disturbed that Schuster used the word “investigation.”

Coblentz said that Schuster ultimately was responsible for hiring the assistant tax collector that quit.

“She was not a good fit or hire for the office,”Coblentz said.

The termination Schuster referred to took place in July 2011 and involved a collections clerk who was still in a probationary period, Coblentz said.

In an August 2012 memo to the Board of Selectmen, Coblentz said she believed she had the authority to terminate an employee at anytime during the 90-day probationary period, based on a conversation with former First Selectman Linda Hodge.

“I now understand that she had delegated this authority to myself and that I needed to consult with the first selectman, Gregg Schuster, and receive approval in order to terminate this/any employee,” she said in the memo.

The second woman, who was escorted by police from the Town Hall, was a temporary assistant clerk with a start and end date, Coblentz said. Police were called by the town clerk’s office in November 2011, “when the employee was leaving, she was showing erratic behavior and going into numerous offices yelling and shouting,” Coblentz told Schuster.

In exit interviews, both the assistant tax collector and temporary assistant clerk both said little or no training was provided from Coblentz, and that she was difficult to work with and spent much time away from the office.

“After reading the (assistant tax collector’s) exit interview I was floored,” Coblentz said in an email to Schuster. “She left saying she could handle the work but then states she did not know what she was doing. When hired she was asked if she could handle the office alone at times, she said yes. Then when she was alone, she complained about it.”

Coblentz also has questioned the first selectman’s authority to direct her to fill out a time sheet, documents show.

On July 17, five days after the assistant collector quit, Schuster told Coblentz and Town Clerk Nancy Bray, both elected officials, that they must fill in their hours worked on a standard time sheet.

Bray made the matter public on Jan. 17, asking the Board of Selectmen to investigate the validity of Schuster’s action, which she said is not allowed by town charter or the personnel policy.

“I have no problem being accountable for my hours,” Coblentz said. “I just want to make sure it is a fair process.”

The documents also show that Coblentz and her attorney met with Schuster and the town labor attorney last Aug. 20, and that the Board of Selectmen held an executive session Sept. 6 to discuss Coblentz’ performance as tax collector.

Coblentz said Thursday the tax office, which needs a minimum staff level of two full-time and one part-time employees, has been understaffed since July. She is the only full-time employee and is assisted by two per-diem office workers.

“I’m very grateful for having both of them,” she said.

The reduced staff has affected operations, Coblentz said. In August, she told Schuster that statements to delinquent taxpayers were delayed in being sent.

Interviews to hire a replacement full-time assistant collector began last week, Coblentz said, although she is not part of the process.

“It is a panel that Gregg (Schuster) is on,” she said.

Coblentz and Schuster should use the issues to determine what the necessary staff levels of the tax office should be, according to one taxpayer.

“There should be a review of the office,” Tearice Peters said. “Do they need to fill the open position? Could it be made seasonal for the busy times like January and July? There could be a cost savings there. It’s a judgment call (Coblentz) has to make.”